Crash and Burn
by TheHttydRaven
Summary: Emma is fatally injured after the helicopter crash. Paul says goodbye. A "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals/TGWDLM" angst fanfiction.


Paul jolted up right, a gasp escaping his chapped lips as the straps of the helicopters restraints kept him in his seat.

He remembered kicking the gun away, and Zoey firing a shot into the helicopter, but he couldn't remember what had happened after... he could smell the distinct scent of fire and a sort haze of smoke drifted past his eyes. They must have crashed...

Paul blinked rapidly and shook his head, moving a lone strand of hair out of his eyes as he looked around the helicopter - or what had once been a helicopter, but was now just a group of crumpled hunks of metal.

He was the only one there - or the only one alive, Zoey (or the thing that took over her body), was slumped motionless over the controls, her legs crushed and stuck under the fuselage, her hair glittering with broken shards of glass from the windshield.

Emma wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Emma?!"

Paul stood up, shakily tilting as his abused and bruised limbs protested his abrupt use of them, stumbling from the helicopter as he desperately scanned the surrounding area for his barista.

"Emma?" The helicopter had driven a gouge into the earth, and flaming bits of metal and machinery were scattered all around, the fires lighting the ground as Paul searched for his friend.

"Huugh!" A strangled and agonized groan came from his right, and Paul whirled to see Emma dragging herself towards him.

"Emma-!" Paul stalled as his eyes found her thigh, which was soaked in bright red blood, a long piece of bloody rebar impaling it through-and-through. "Oh!"

Emma fell back against the ground, one hand scrabbling at her injured leg as pained moans escaped through tightly gritted teeth.

"Oh god Emma! Your leg!" Paul rushed over to her and knelt by her side as she cursed and writhed on the dirt, eyes rolling in her sockets as she did. "Emma... I hate to say this right now, but this is what seatbelts are for!"

Emma rolled to her side as another curse escaped her lips, her now bloodied and red-stained hand still clutched tightly onto her thigh.

"Emma, Emma we're still in Hatchetfield, we need to get to the shore! We need to find a boat or something!" Paul desperately spoke of ways to reach safety, but looking at Emma he knew it was most likely a fruitless venture. Still, he wouldn't give up.

"No, no-" Emma let out a pain-filled cry as Paul tried to grab her, Paul immediately letting go, hands hovering over her form, the man unsure what to do.

"Paul, I can't make it." Emma panted, turning her head to look at him. "I'm not getting off this island."

"No, Emma those things are going to find us... they're going to kill us, we have to-"

"You gotta fucking kill them before they do," Emma sat up, eyes widening as she looked around, "The meteor. You gotta, you've got to destroy the meteor, Paul." Emma panted as she looked Paul in the eyes, "It's like your friend said, you know, the Hive Mind?"

Paul made a comment about not knowing friend she was referring to, but he didn't really care which of his now gone friends she was talking about. He was just drawing out the inevitable. He didn't want to leave his barista to... to die.

"Okay," Paul shakily stood. "Okay," Paul strode over to the remains of the helicopter, briefly ducking inside and grabbing the grenades, looping them over his shoulder as he mentally reassured him self. He could do this. Everyone would be fine. He would be fine. Emma... Emma would be fine.

He tried to convince himself that the last one wasn't a lie. He wasn't very successful.

"So I just need to get to the Starlight Theater destroy the meteor, and all these things will drop dead?" Paul crossed the space between the remnants of the helicopter and Emma, dropping to the dirt beside her as he read her her.

"Yeah, I sure as shit hope so." Emma groaned, her features contorting in pain.

"You just stay here and try to hold on" Paul gently touched her arm, worry filling his gaze.

Emma turned to look at him, her dialated pupils finding his. "Hey Paul... um, " Emma paused as a soft smile crossed her lips, "I know why you came into Beanies all those times," Emma sat up with the help of Paul, grimacing as she jostled her leg, "instead of just going to Starbucks. And it wasn't just cause you liked our shit coffee. Our coffee was shit."

Paul huffed and smiled gently at her, but it only lasted a moment before a sad frown took ahold of his lips once more.

Emma was rambling now, something along the lines of not caring and Paul drinking spit, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He spent these precious moments gazing at Emma's face, taking in her beautiful features and commenting them to memory. He didn't want to forget her once this was over. He didn't want to forget his Emma.

"Anyway, Paul," Paul was brought back to attention as Emma looked up at him, her beautiful gaze capturing his. "If we get through this, I would love to just see a nice _silent _movie with you." Paul opened his mouth to promise to take her to a movie, of course, but Emma continued.

"But, in case we don't-" Emma looked downward, running her tongue over her teeth as she hesitated, "Kiss me?"

Paul think he felt his heart break. He didn't want this to end. He didn't want to lose Emma.

"Okay."

Paul leaned in, and Emma closed her eyes.

Paul leaned forward a little, hesitating. This was their first kiss, but... would it end as their last? His and Emma's lips were barely an inch apart, Paul could feel her soft breaths ghosting across his skin. Logan moved forward and their lips brushed against each other, and suddenly the noises of the world around them went silent, the crackling of the fire and the distant alarms of various places around Hatchetfield falling into silence. Paul could only hear Emma, he could only feel Emma, could only smell her, soft hints of perfume and coffee filling his senses. His entire world was Emma.

And then they broke apart.

"Emma-" Paul gasped, and reached for her.

"Paul-" Emma reached out as well, intertwining their fingers, his scratched and dust covered, hers bloodied and damp.

"Emma, no-" Paul could see her fading, could see by the pool of blood they were now crouched in that she wouldn't make it. "Emma I-"

"I love you Paul." Emma smiled softly, bringing up a hand to cup his cheek as a tear dripped from his eye. "Thank you. For everything."

Paul sobbed, hand rising to clutch hers where it lay against his skin, the other slowly laying her back to the ground, where she stilled, her eyes gazing up to the stars. Her hand went limp, and fell from his face, tugging his with it.

"No-" Paul pressed his fingers to Emma's neck, his eyes wide and his hand shaking, "No, no-" there was nothing.

"Emma!" Paul reached out and clutched her body, wrapping his arms around her and dragging her close to his shaking form.

She was gone.

Paul sucked in breath after breath, but it seemed his lungs couldn't get enough air. His grief was drowning him, and his heart felt like it was falling apart.

Emma was gone.

And soon? Paul would be to.

_Fin~_


End file.
